London Ragas: Breath into Sound | Pandit Ajay Prasanna

This August, our London Ragas Baithak welcomes **Pandit Ajay Prasanna**, four-time Grammy-nominated flautist and one of India's leading bansuri exponents, to the main hall at Oasis Academy Silvertown on the 20th. He returns after last November's four-city tour with us, from Oxford to Duke's Hall, and this time comes mid-tour with Gorillaz, who featured his bansuri on their album Parvat (The Mountain). We thank him for making room for our Darbar in a packed diary. Kayam Hussain accompanies him on tabla.

Pandit Ajay Prasanna carries the Banaras Gharana flute legacy of his father, Pandit Bholanath Prasanna, whose students include Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. His honours include the Global Indian Music Award and the Sangeet Ratna. Kayam, son and student of tabla maestro Ustad Shahbaz Hussain, who opened this series in July, has performed as a tabla player with Gorillaz.

Like every Ragas evening of ours, this one asks you to pause. Indian classical traditions treat music as meditation, the healing resonance of sound (Shabd) as a way to restore balance within ourselves and our communities. The bansuri suits this purpose: it is breath made audible, and a long alap can settle a room the way slow breathing settles the mind. Sit close, put the phone away, and let the sound do its work of connection, mindfulness, and renewal.

If you are in London or around, do join. For any special needs, contact us. Doors open at 6:45 PM.

Presented by KalaSudha.

Open for all